FG to procure customised screening machines for 5 Airports

The Federal Government is to procure customised explosives and narcotic detection screening system with remote and dual view for five international airports in the country to reduce the stress encountered by passengers.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Chief Festus Keyamo, said this at the end of the Federal  Executive Council meeting on Monday in Abuja.

He  said the contract was coming on the heels of the administration’s concern for the long delay and complaints by passengers using airports across the country.

Keyamo said the machines worth N3.28 billion would be installed in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu Airports, adding that it had a completion period of 12 months from date of payment.

‘’Since I came to office, we have been inundated with the harrowing experience that passengers go through at the airports where they have to physically search their bags.

”You see various agencies lined up and they will be dipping their hands into your bags.

‘’We thought we should do something like you have the TSA in America where you have detection machines so when you pass your bags through their machines, they detect explosives and any other thing and that’s the end of the search,’’ he said.

Keyamo also said that the council ratified the Bilateral Air Service Agreement with the Republic of Guyana, which was signed in 2014.

He said that the agreement would bring about lesser air travel time for passengers going to European countries.

On the Nigeria Air project, the minister said that the project had been suspended and a report submitted to the president on the next line of action, adding that he would not want to preempt the decision of the president on it.

He, however, disclosed that various issues surrounding the deployment of the airline were appropriately tabled in the report to the president.

Keyamo said at the right time, Nigerians would be informed of the circumstances of the airline and when a new one would take off.

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Lateef Fagbemi, said FEC approved the presentation of the Human Rights report of the country to the United Nations.

He said that the report was part of the UN Universal Periodic Report to be presented in February 2024.

“Since 2018 we have not made a report and there would be a meeting where all these reports will be submitted in February 2024. It’s just right that we forward the report ahead of that meeting.

“After engaging critical stakeholders in each of the six zones of the country, including all the three tiers of government, we compiled a report which we are sending to the United Nations Human Right on Universal Periodic Review for consideration,’’ he said.

Fagbemi said  the report contained certain questions posed by the UN as part of the requirements for the submission of the report.

He said the report contained the status of Nigeria on child employment in armed forces, discrimination against women, especially in terms of inheritance as well as the fight against corruption.